Why you should care?
In case your boss asks you to stand up you can at least say you were helping the environment.
by Kate Houser
Since we’re all professional remote employees now, shoot, we’re actually all professionally remote…remote dinners with our families, remote teachers for our kids, remote yogis with our instructors, and more, we’re quite fortunate to have products like Zoom video conferencing calls. Tools like this allow us all to stay connected. Even MORE fortunately, the little computer camera only allows your zoom guests to see you from the waist up, am I right!?
Goodbye uncomfortable business casual slacks! Farewell dreaded pencil skirt. Good riddance work appropriate jeans! Hello sustainable clothing brands! We’ve shifted to the comfortability of our favorite pair of sweatpants, but since we’ve been quarantined for at least 30 days now, your usual pair of cozies might be ready for an upgrade. Or at least maybe change out your Tuesday/Thursday sweats for a new pair to really jazz up your week.
Most sweatpants are made of cotton. Why? Because it’s, well, cozy. Did you know that conventional cotton, however, is really bad for the environment? Three words: land consumption, water consumption, and pesticides (ew). According to the Environment Justice Foundation, (EJF) “The cotton crop is grown on around 2.5% of the planet’s arable land, consuming around 2.6% of the global water footprint for consumed goods, and responsible for $2 billion worth of chemical pesticides every year, many of which are considered hazardous by the World Health Organisation.”
If it’s made with pesticides, residual pesticides likely remain on the garment. Imagine spending 8 hours per night sleeping and potentially 1-2 hours afternoon napping in your cozy sweats which are straight up “housing” pesticides. I’ll pass.
In addition to that, the EJF reported that, “China, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Uzbekistan and Turkey – six of the world’s top seven cotton producers – have been reported to use child labour in their cotton fields.” It’s definitely not fun to hear how children as young as seven are being forced to work 50+ hours a week in a cotton field to make you a pair of $20 sweatpants, but often, the truth about where a lot of our clothing comes from isn’t a happy story. That’s why we have to proactively choose better, and Hey Social Good is here to provide better solid alternatives from great sustainable clothing brands.
Next time you’re shopping for sweats, look at what went into making that fabric. You can find the information on the product page of the brand’s website; it’s usually located under the “details” section right before you order. Look for fabrics like the ones we have outlined here, specifically, organic or fair trade cotton, which while it’s a little more expensive, it is way less harmful for people and the planet.
Fortunately there are TONS of amazing brands who make really comfy sweats but also care about the impact they have on our planet and the origin of their fabric. Which means YOU can upgrade your sweats game and know you’re having a positive impact on our world, all from the comfort of your home office (couch). Here are some of our Hey Social Good approved sustainable clothing brands to shop for your next pair of sustainable sweats:
The brands below are “Currently Being Assessed” because we discovered them after our last annual assessment. But, we love what they are about and just had to share.
For even more tips, check out our Fashion This for That Guide!
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